Massachusetts
Trump candidacy challenge dismissed in Massachusetts
Former President Trump will be allowed on Massachusetts’s presidential primary ballot, following a state panel’s dismissal of two challenges.
The Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission on Monday rejected two attempts to keep Trump off the ballot, stating it “does not have jurisdiction over the matters presented.”
The two ballot eligibility challenges followed the same line of argument as a series of others across the nation that invoke the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. The challenges argued Trump cannot appear on the primary or general ballots because he “engaged in a rebellion against the Constitution.”
The dismissals are a victory for the Trump campaign, which celebrated the decision Tuesday.
“Yesterday, the Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission dealt another blow to Biden Democrats and their Election Interference attempt to disenfranchise millions of American voters by trying to remove President Trump from the ballot,” the campaign wrote in a statement.
“In discarding this latest hoax, the commission sided with the Constitution, ensuring that the people of Massachusetts will have the right to vote for the candidate of their choice in 2024.”
The Bay State will hold its primary on March 5, or Super Tuesday, along with 15 other states.
The state’s Ballot Law Commission met last week for a pre-hearing conference where they heard arguments on procedural matters.
As they’ve done in other challenges across the country, Trump’s representation pushed the commission to toss the case.
“There is nothing in the case law or the statutes that the commission is required to follow that says qualification to be on a ballot is a precondition to appear on the ballot,” Trump lawyer Marc Salinas said, per CNN.
The commission is a bipartisan panel of five members appointed by the state’s governor.
The challenges were among several across the country testing the former president’s eligibility to run for president.
Most of the challenges to Trump’s ballot have been unsuccessful, though in two states — Colorado and Maine — the state’s Supreme Court and top elections official issued decisions, respectively, to eliminate Trump’s name from each state’s primary ballot.
Trump’s appeal of Colorado’s decision will be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court beginning in February. Maine’s case was appealed in the state’s Superior Court, and the justice assigned to the case issued a ruling last week to delay judgement until the nation’s highest court weighs in on the matter.
The Massachusetts decision came one day ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary in nearby New Hampshire, where a polling index by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ shows Trump leading former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley by nearly 14 points.
He easily won in last week’s Iowa’s caucuses, beating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by nearly 30 points. DeSantis suspended his campaign Sunday following the disappointing showing in the Hawkeye State.
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Massachusetts
A magical holiday village is tucked inside Massachusetts’ most famous candle store
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
- This is the most popular candle scent in Massachusetts, according to The Loupe
Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
- ‘Disneyland’ Leverett estate of Yankee Candle founder Michael J. Kittredge II for sale at $23 million
But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Massachusetts
Two stranded dolphins rescued from Massachusetts marsh
It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
Massachusetts
Man seriously injured after being thrown from moving vehicle during domestic dispute
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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